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Friday, 9 January 2015

170)
The “25 Euro Silver-Niobium Coin Series": (x) 2003 onwards minted by the Austrian
Mint by using Niobium and Niobium metal insertion technology for the first time
anywhere in the World of Numismatics:

Tenth
Coin in the Series: “Bionics” (2012):

Bionics:

The term Bionics was coined
by Jack E. Steele in 1958. In Greek the meaning of the word “bion” is “unit of life” and “ic” means “like”. Thus bionic stands for
“life-like”.

Bionics
relates to the application of biological methods and systems found in nature to
the study and design of engineering systems and modern technology. It is a
science that combines “biology” and “electronics”. The study of bionics
emphasises upon implementing a function found in nature, instead of merely
imitating the biological structures.

A classical example of
bionics is the development of dirt-and-water repellent paint (coating)
developed from the observation that the surface of the lotus flower plant is
unsticky for anything. Similarly, Velcro was inspired by the tiny hooks found on
the surface of burs.

The term Bionic was
popularised by the 1970s television serials “The Six Million dollar Man” and
“The Bionic Woman”, both based on the novel “Cyborg” penned by Martin Caidin
and featuring humans with superhuman powers driven by electromechanical
implants.

Nature
as a Biologically Inspiring Model:

Evolution over millions of
years made nature introduce solutions that are highly power-efficient and
imitating them offers potential improvements of our life and of the tools that humans
use.

The introduction of the
wheel was one of the greatest inventions that humans made which allows
travelling great distances and to perform tasks that would have otherwise been
impossible to accomplish. Wheel based locomotion mechanisms allow reaching
great distances and speeds, even then, there are limitations sometimes wheeled
vehicles are subjected to great limitations in regard to traversing complex
terrain with obstacles, which necessitated man to mimic birds and take to flying
machines & gliders.

As of now, there are three
biological levels in the flora & fauna on which modern technology can be
modelled:

-Mimicking
natural methods of manufacture

-Imitating
mechanisms found in nature

-Studying
organisational principles from the social behaviour of organisms, such as the
flocking behaviour of birds, optimisation of ant foraging and bee foraging and
swarm intelligence based on fishes.

Making miniature devices
that can fly like a dragonfly, adhere to walls like geckos, adapt the texture,
patterns and shape of the surrounding like an octopus, which can refigure its
body to pass through very narrow tubing, process complex 3 D images in real
time, recycle mobility power for highly efficient operation and locomotion,
self-replicate, self-grow using surrounding resources, chemically generate and
store energy and many other capabilities that biology offers as a model for
science and engineering inspiration.

Robots are being
developed, particularly for space missions, which can negotiate mobility in
difficult/complex terrains, perform sample acquisition and analysis and many
other functions that are attributed to legged animals including grasping and
object manipulation. These robots can be in the shape of six-legged spiders
each of which has interchangeable end-effectors to perform the required
mission.

Some
familiar examplesof
Bionics:

-Bionics is helping in designing of more
state of the art Aircraft, through mimicking birds in flight &
manoeuvrability.

-The adhesive which is used by mussels to
stick to rocks, piers and boat hulls has influenced the development of bio-adhesive
gel for blood vessels.

-Air-conditioning systems in buildings are
being modelled after termite mounds to create efficient cooling.

-Study of wing structures of butterflies has
led to the creation of latest nano-sensors for detecting explosives.

-Some paints and roof tiles are engineered
to be self-cleaning by imitating the mechanism from the lotus.

-The material used in anthills is so strong
that it can withstand massive impacts for several generations. The chemical
analysis of this material is being done to use it as a replacement material for
concrete.

-Bionics in engineering include the hulls of
boats imitating the thick skin of dolphins and sonar, radar and medical
ultrasound imaging imitating the echolocation of bats.

-In computer science, the study of bionics
uses artificial neurons, artificial neuron networks and swarm intelligence.
Also, in computer science, cybernetics tries to model the feedback and control
mechanisms that are inherent in intelligent behaviour, while Artificial
Intelligence (AI) tries to model the intelligent function regardless of the
particular method in which it can be achieved.

-Copying
examples and mechanisms from natural organisms and ecologies is a process which
treats nature itself as a database of solutions which have evolved through the
process of evolution. This approach mimics nature and minimises the risk of
failures.

Bionics
in Medicine:

-Bionics
means the replacement or enhancement of organs or other body parts by
mechanical versions and is a combination of passive and activated abilities
that can be added to a person.

-Bionic implants differ from mere
prostheses by mimicking the original function very closely, or even surpassing
it.

-The German term “Bionik” includes the
broader meaning and tries to develop engineering solutions from biological
models. This approach is inspired by the fact that biological solutions will
usually be optimised by evolutionary forces.

-A
surgery is performed to allow the biology of the recipient’s body to control
electronic implants or prostheses. In addition, to skills and traits, bionics
adds an additional level of customisation to the person’s capabilities. Certain
combinations of bionics work well with each other, creating a fluid
synergy. A power storage bionic and a bionic capable of charging the battery are
necessary for the use of other bionics. Once the implants are completed, a
Bionic person has enhanced abilities.

-Bionics for the disabled:

Prosthetic
arms or leg enhancements are worn outside the body or implanted sensor devices
inside the body which are specifically enhanced to help carry out routine
functions. These are essentially life systems that are powered by
motors/actuators and sensory arrays, which send out neural signals from the
affected part of the body to the brain, by which individuals are able to
perform some tasks independently. This technology is particularly useful for
human beings as they do not have the power of regenerating the lost organ say
for example, a starfish or a lizard which possess the capability to grow back
arms and legs, restoring them to the original state.

The
Axotyl is an amphibian which can live on both land and water, but prefers to
live in the water. It has the capability to grow any limb or cut portion of its
body to its original size/shape. Found in the rivers of Mexico, it is now an
endangered species whose numbers have declined alarmingly, because it is hunted
by poachers for its medicinal properties. We took this photo at an Aquarium
which we recently visited in Pune.

-Till
the time that stem cell research is able to find the answers to this dilemma,
bionics is an alternative to restore a human body’s capabilities to perform
routine functions.

-During
ancient mythological times soldiers were known to have artificial limbs made of
iron to replace the ones they had lost in battle which rendered them combat
ready once again.

-Today,
however, several technologies – robotics, bio-engineering, MEMS together-with
nano-technology provide detailed precision to engineer body organs and make
them function along with human tissues. Several technological advancements have
taken place, both in medical and electronics industry in the form of
miniaturised electronic components, sophisticated microchips and advanced
computer systems which can be embedded in the human body.

- Cochlear implants for hearing impaired
persons, a silicon retina which works on similar lines & produces images as
a living retina, bionic arms etc. are a functioning reality available to
physically challenged persons. Intelligently powered exoskeleton bionic devices
are being developed that can be strapped on to enhance the strength, mobility
and endurance of soldiers and paraplegics, even for mountain climbing and
outdoor adventure sports etc.

-Perfection
of the bionic eye & cures for a range of neurological disorders promises to
find realistic solutions in hitherto extremely challenging fields.

-Potentially,
neurobionic devices could be implanted to stop tremors and movement disorders
such as Parkinson’s disease and treat debilitating psychiatric conditions such
as obsessive-compulsive disorder and schizophrenia. As neurobionics develops,
this technology can drastically improve brain-computer interface. With a bionic
device capable of reading brainwaves implanted into the brain of a
quadriplegic, for example, the device can transmit the brain signals to chips
implanted into machines, such as wheelchairs and computers. Thus, a human can
have the capability of controlling any appropriately micro-chipped machine with
the power of the mind.

-Electro-active Polymers
(EAPs): One
of the requirements of driving mechanisms that emulate biology is the
development of actuators that mimic the capability of biological muscles.

-The
potential for such actuators is continuously growing with advances being made
leading to more advanced mechanisms, which have functional similarities to
biological muscles, including resilience, quiet operation, damage tolerance and
large actuation strains (stretching, contracting or bending).

-Electro-active
polymers can potentially provide more lifelike aesthetics, vibration and shock
dampening and more flexible actuator configurations. These materials can be
used to make mechanical devices and robots with no traditional components like
gears & bearings. Also, they could be used as artificial organs.

-Electro-active
polymers can potentially enable bio-engineering of medical applications that
are considered impossible with today’s technology. Important additions to this
capability can be the application of tele-presence combined with virtual
reality using haptic interfaces (relating to the sense of touch, in particular
relating to the perception and manipulation of objects using the senses of
touch and proprioception). As technology progresses, it is possible that bio-mimetic
prosthetics will become commonplace in future.

Some
other Fields of Bionics:

For chemical reactions related bionics, the term used is “bio-mimetic” coined by Otto
Schmitt in the 1950s. This branch of Chemistry relates to reactions that, in
nature, involve biological macromolecules like enzymes and nucleic acids whose
chemistry can be replicated using much smaller molecules in vitro.

Business
bio-mimetics is an exciting field in which principles
and practice from biological systems are applied to business strategy,
processes, organisation design & strategic thinking. It is a creative technique which uses biological prototypes to get
ideas for engineering solutions.

Another
field of bionics deals with the merging of organisms and machines.
This gives rise to a hybrid system which combines biological and engineering
parts, which can be termed as a cybernetic organism or a “cyborg”. The movie
series “Robocop” depicts one such experiment.

Bionic
Architecture:

This Branch of Bionics is concerned with the
design and construction of expressive buildings whose layout and lines borrow
from natural or biological forms. The focus of the practitioners is on development
of aesthetic and economic justifications for these architectural forms.

The
2012 “25 Euro Silver-Niobium Coin - Bionics”:

This
coin shows examples of how evolution in the natural world acts as a prototype
of technology.

On the Obverse of the coin is depicted
a cross-section of a Nautilus shell snail, above which an eagle soars with its
outstretched wings in the Niobium core. The denomination of the coin “25 Euro”
is shown on the right periphery of the Niobium core, below which is mentioned
the year of issue “2012”. On the outer silver ring on the lower left periphery
is shown a shark, while above the shark is depicted a lotus flower together
with palm fronds/leaves and bubbles in the water in which the lotus is growing.
On the upper periphery is shown an aeroplane, while emulates the flight of the
eagle. On the right periphery of the outer silver ring is mentioned the name of
the country “REPUBLIK OSTERREICH”
(MEANING “Republic of Austria”).

Through the process of
Evolution, living organisms tend to become highly optimised and efficient. A
prime example is the water-repellent nature of the lotus flower and that of
shark skin, a phenomenon fundamental in the development of paint. By the same
token, the chambered shell of the nautilus has influenced architectural design
and the mechanics of bird flight has very significantly inspired aviation. All
these four examples feature on the coin’s obverse.

The
colour of the Niobium core in this coin is purple.

On the Reverse of the coin is depicted
the use of Bionics in architecture. A radiolarian, the plankton that inspired
the Spanish modern architect Antoni Gaudi, is depicted in the foreground, while
this face’s background shows an interior view of Munich’s Olympic Stadium, the
roof of which is famously designed on a honeycomb pattern, are all based on observations
in the field of Bionics.

2 comments:

Ramchandra Lalingkar has commented:"Amazing information. Hats off to those who invented these techniques by observing surrounding 'nature' and of course to you who made available this valuable information to us. Thanks".

About Me

I am Rajeev Prasad, a retired State Bank of India officer who had been collecting coins in a shoe box without having a serious interest. Only after quitting my job I got the time to take serious interest in developing my coin collection into a hobby. A pity, because I would have had more opportunity to lay my hands on more 'exclusive coins' while in the Bank. Anyway, as they say,better late than never. If you have any views to share with me regarding this blog , please contact me on my email rajeevprasad1208@gmail.com. I also have a twitter account @prasad_rajeev.
I had an opportunity to participate in a Documentary on the life and times of the 25 paise coin titled “Chal Basi Chavanni” (The four anna/twenty five paise coin passes away), aired by STAR NEWS on 29th and 30th June 2011. The programme helped in making many persons hold back onto their “chavannis”, the little round beauties, instead of returning them to Banks .